The Boy From Celestic Town: Kurai's Adventure
by Xatias Cordiae
Summary: Our story focuses on Kurai. A boy who starts his adventure a bit late but better late than never. It's an OC fic but bear with me on it.
1. Chapter 1

The sun rose over a quiet little town. There were few houses. The wind blew softly, the water rippled and the grass swayed. A little shrine stood in the middle of the town, behind it were ruins. On each side of the entrance to the ruins was a statue of two great beings that ruled over space and time. The sun crept up and all was peaceful. In a little house at the edge of town an alarm rang. The house itself was like a stone statue, extremely quiet. A young man rustled in his bed. He tiredly reached out his hand to stop the alarm. He missed the button a few times before balling his fist and slamming it down on the alarm clock. His hand searched on the nightstand for something and he picked up his glasses. They were thin and silver. He sat up and slowly put the back of his wrist to his eye. He sighed softly and put on his glasses. He pushed them up since they were slightly twisted. He then got out of bed, went to the bathroom and did the classic morning routine. He then went downstairs. It was dark and silent. He opened the curtains to let some light into the house. He made breakfast and sat down on the couch. As he turned on the television he ate and flicked through the channels. When he reached a certain channel he saw something, rather someone that made him smile slightly. Crowds cheered on the T.V., for it was a battle. When it was over he got up and put on a lab coat, its sleeves were torn off and his black sleeves from the shirt he was wearing filled its place. He put on a messengers bag; his shoes and walked out the door. He shielded his eyes from the sun and begun to walk. The smell of flowers filled the air. He breathed in the flowery air and exhaled blissfully. That smell reminded him of his past with an old friend. He was lost in his memories when he tripped down a short flight of stairs. "O-ow…" He slowly got up and dusted off his coat and fixed his glasses. He then proceeded behind the shrine and into the shrine. He wandered around for a bit before coming across a small duskull. The duskull was odd however. Its mask looked more deadly and its eye was purple. "Ah there you are…" the boy said as he reached out his hand to pet it. The Duskull allowed his hand to pet it. "Today's the day, yeah?" It's a bit late to start but its better late than never…" The duskull seemed to smile. "I made a pokeball for you, I hope you like it. What's it like in there anyway?" It was silent for a moment. "Oh wait; you've never been caught before so…never mind." It looked at me in question. "So um…shall we get to it?" The Duskull nodded slightly. He nodded back and pulled out a pokeball. "I hope you like it…" He threw the pokeball at Duskull as it lightly bounced off its head, the ball opened and Duskull beamed inside. The ball moved a few times and then it was still. "Heheh...yay…" He picked the ball up and threw it in the air. Duskull popped out and proceeded to float around him. He smiled, at the same time an old woman came into the ruins. She stared at them for a moment and said, "Finally starting your adventure Kurai?" Kurai looked at her. "Better late than never." he responded.  
>"Indeed, dear boy. You better be prepared though."<br>"I am. I have everything I need." Kurai smiled.  
>"Good, good. There definitely will be a day when you'd have to fight her, you know."<br>"I know, I know" Kurai laughed and ever so slightly blushed.  
>"On another subject, did you make the premier balls I asked for?"<br>"I…forgot…" Kurai's went pale as if he saw someone die. "I-I'm terribly sorry."  
>"It's alright Kurai. Just be sure to get to it before you leave." The old woman smiled.<br>"R-right away ma'am! Come on Duskull!" Kurai ran out of the ruins with Duskull, and then to his house. When he got in he went down to his basement. He picked up a flat head screwdriver and got to work. He crafted a dozen premier balls by morning. The first thing he did was packing his pokeball making kit in his bag and carried the shipment over to the old lady's house. The old woman welcomed him in. "How much will this be?" the old woman asked. "It'll be 14,350 P" Kurai said. The woman pulled out a pokedex and asked for his. Kurai just stood there. "What's the matter? Don't you have one?"  
>"N-no…" Kurai responded.<br>"Well I have an extra." There was a slight bargaining tone in her voice. "Cut of three-quarters of the price and I'll give it to you."  
>"I have no problem with that." Kurai said soullessly. His dark purple eyes looked saddened, but they weren't, they were rather overjoyed.<br>"Alright here's your money" the old lady said. "And your pokedex."  
>Kurai took the 4,784P and his newly obtained pokedex. "This will help a lot with my adventure!" he said as he scanned Duskull into it. After he was finished he bid the old woman a good day. Duskull somehow disappeared. Kurai called out to as it popped out of a wall and tried to scare him. Kurai was unfazed, he rather laughed. He waved bye to the old woman as he left her house and headed for the edge of town. He turned around to face the town, and he sighed. "Well, hopefully this is the last I'll see this place for a while, eh Duskull?" Duskull nodded and floated around him joyfully. Kurai turned back around and began walking. For about an hour he fiddled with his pokedex. "I bet I can modify this, or maybe make it better." His eye shone with a glow. He even pushed up his glasses for that purpose of the glare. "Heh of course I can I'm a scientist." He said cockily. Duskull sighed and sweat dropped, then he looked ahead and saw a small cliff. Kurai was lost in his imagination as Duskull tried to warn him about the impending danger. Kurai inevitably fell off the cliff and face planted into the ground. "Urk." His glasses twisted sideways as he sat up. "Aw…" he tried to fix his glasses and re fit them onto his face. Afterwards, he noticed his coat was extremely dirty. He frantically dusted it off. A voice came up to him and laughed. "Need some help there?" A young boy around the age of 10 appeared in front of Kurai. He had a Pikachu on his shoulder. "Who are you?" Kurai asked.<br>"The name's Ash Ketchum (Satoshi)! I'm training to be a Pokémon trainer! What's your name?"  
>"My name is Kurai, just Kurai. I'm an orphan so I don't really have a last name. I'm a Pokémon researcher and a trainer-in-training."<br>"Oh cool and I'm sorry to hear that…" Ash looked down.  
>"Don't be, it's fine. It's not like I was alone all my life, I always had someone there for me…she was the best. Kurai looked down and smiled a bit. There was a silence for a moment and then Ash blurted out, "We should battle! It'll be good for you since you just started out!"<br>"Yes, I suppose it will…" Kurai slowly stood up as his Duskull floated above him.  
>"Alright! Pikachu go!" Ash pointed his finger in front of him as Pikachu jumped off his shoulder and smiled in a fighting sense as it landed.<br>"Duskull, let's go!" Kurai said as he pushed up his glasses. His Duskull floated onto the field with a killer intent and tried to intimidate Pikachu (not the ability). There was a moment of silence. Then all of a sudden Ash yelled, "Pikachu use Thunderbolt!" Ash gave the command and Pikachu charged up electricity and shot it at Duskull. "Dodge it, Duskull! Then use Night Shade!" Duskull easily dodge the attack as Ash had a 'dammit' look on his face. Duskull fired two beams from his eyes and hit Pikachu sending it flying back a little. "P-Pikachu!" Ash yelled. "Get up and use Iron Tail!" Pikachu rapidly got up and his tail glowed with an emanating light. Duskull prepared for an attack. Pikachu jumped in the air, and front flipped slamming his tail down on Duskull. Duskull was forced into the ground. "Duskull, are you alright?" Kurai yelled out to it. Duskull got up, unfazed by Pikachu's attack. "Nngh…" Ash stood back slightly. "Hm…Duskull use Dark Pulse!" Duskull's eyes flashed as he fired a beam at Pikachu. "Dodge it Pikachu!" Ash exclaimed. Pikachu dodged as the Dark Pulse hit the ground. It spread out and caught Pikachu in its blast radius. Pikachu fell down to the ground. "Shadow Ball…" Kurai said darkly. Duskull fired a dark ball as it pummeled Pikachu into the ground before Ash had a chance to do anything. Pikachu fainted as Ash ran over to it, and held him. Pikachu looked up at Ash after regaining consciousness. "Oh good you're alright…" Ash smiled. Kurai looked at them as Duskull went back to haunting around Kurai. Kurai then walked over to Ash and offered him a hand up. Ash took it and stood. "Hey where are you from?" Ash asked. "Celestic Town" Kurai responded.  
>"Oh cool, that's just right there." Ash pointed out.<br>"I know…"  
>"I was going to head to Eterna City, through Mt. Coronet." Ash said. Kurai was busy not paying attention, looking for something. Ash sweat dropped. Kurai frantically looked through his bags and in his pockets. "W-what are you looking for?" Ash asked. "M-my necklace, I forgot it! Cyndi gave that to me…damn I have to get back to Celestic!" Kurai quickly started to walk and Ash followed. "I'm headed in that direction too, so we can go together!" he smiled. "Yea, yea whatever just don't get in my way!" Kurai yelled. The necklace was extremely important to him. After another long walk back to Celestic he got his necklace and put it around his neck. "I'm never taking this off…ever again." he clutched the necklace and Ash wanted to ask about it but he didn't. "Should we go to Eterna then?" Ash asked.<br>"I guess so…" Kurai sighed and walked toward the door.  
>Ash followed him and they both started for Mt. Coronet. Kurai stopped in front of the steps to the shrine as Duskull went and floated around it a bit. Then it came back and Kurai nodded slightly. Ash looked at both of them with question and Kurai begun to walk again without another word. "H-hey wait up!" Ash yelled. Kurai kept walking as the wind blew softly, the water rippled and the flowers swayed.<p>

CH. 1 END

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><p>This is Kurai's Beta. Technically, I'm not an actual beta; I just wouldn't stop bothering him about it.<br>This is Kurai's(character) team at the moment:  
>Duskull: Level 35<p>

Moves-

Night shade (Starts with this)  
>Shadow Ball (TM 30)<br>Dark pulse (Egg Move)


	2. Chapter 2

The Journey Through Coronet, To the Town of History We Go!

It was around three in the afternoon when Kurai and Ash came to the entrance of Mt. Coronet. "Well here we are…" Kurai said. "Yep…let's go!" Ash said as he started walking into the cave. Pikachu did his usual pika pika. "Enthusiastic one aren't you, Ash…" Kurai sighed and followed Ash. As they proceeded into the cave, the sound of water droplets hitting the stony ground echoed throughout the cave. Other than that, it was eerily quiet. Pokémon feet scampered around them. Their own footsteps echoed as well. Kurai looked around, observing every single nook and cranny he could lay his eyes on. Ash looked at him curiously. "Hey what are you-" Ash yelled as he tripped over something. He face planted into the ground as Pikachu jumped off and nudged him. Kurai looked over and laughed quietly. Ash sat up quickly quite enraged, "What the heck?" Ash grunted and looked around for what he had tripped on, while Kurai looked as well. It was a little sleeping Snorunt. It had just awoken from its sleep and it slowly realized that it was surrounded by Ash, Kurai and Pikachu. It was frightened and backed up against a wall. Ash walked over to it and in fear it hit him with an Ice Beam. Ash froze and fell to the ground while Pikachu got into a fighting position and electricity charged in his cheeks. Kurai put his hand out signaling for Pikachu to not do anything. Kurai walked over to the terrified Snorunt and kept some distance. He knelt down began to observe it. In the meantime Pikachu tried to unfreeze Ash. "It's hurt." Kurai pointed to multiple cuts and bruises. Pikachu shocked the ice that had frozen Ash and it shattered. Ash shot up and gasped for air. Kurai laughed again and looked back at the quivering Snorunt. "Hmm…I got it." Ash looked at Kurai, who proceeded to pull out a full restore and slowly crawled to Snorunt. In his kindest, subtlest voice he said, "Come here, I'll help you." The Snorunt looked at him, terrified. "I'll get rid of those bruises for you." The Snorunt tried to back up more as Kurai inched closer. Ash watched silently, Pikachu observed and analyzed them. "I'm a friend, I promise." Kurai smiled in a prince like manner. The Snorunt looked at him for about a minute and then eased up. "There we go." Kurai said softly. He lightly held the Pokémon in his left hand, and sprayed the cuts with his right. Snorunt cringed for a moment. Ash looked lost and just stared blankly. Kurai smiled reassuringly at the Snorunt. After finishing, he set the Snorunt down and it just stared at him. He could tell what was going through its head. He then pulled out his pokedex and scanned it. "…Everything seems normal; all things are where it should be for its level." Kurai then looked at Ash. "You've been awfully quiet, Ash."I just…watched. you just changed into an entirely different person. You usually have that dark, frightening vibe about you."  
>"We've just met and you think you know me so well?" Kurai's tone changed back into a dark one. Pikachu did his Pika Pika and Ash hesitated to nod. Kurai laughed softly. "No one knows really knows me, except for one person." He whispered. "She probably doesn't even remember me though." He smiled under a shadow that his hair made. "Snorunt was abandon just like me, weren't you, Snowrunt?"<br>How do you explain the bruises?" Ash asked.  
>"Probably lost a battle against a strong Pokémon, or it could've been abuse…" Snorunt tugged on his pants, as if he shouldn't continue on. He looked back down at it as it looked up at him in a cute sense. His smile faded and he stood up straight and begun to walk. Ash slowly turned and watched him and then realized he was being left behind.<p>

"H-hey wait up!" Ash got up quickly and ran after Kurai.  
>"No…" Kurai started to walk faster.<br>"But what about the Snorunt?" Ash yelled. The Snorunt was actually pursuing them, hiding behind rocks oh so stealthily. It tripped and smacked into the ground. Ash turned and looked and so did Kurai. There was a silence, and then Kurai walked over to it, picked it up and hugged it. Ash looked at him with a slightly evil grin, thinking of all the blackmail opportunities. He looked down at it as it looked up. He hugged it tighter, not wanting to let go of it and it clung to his chest. Ash laughed a bit. Kurai quickly looked back at him. His eyes seemed to suck the light out of room, and Ash felt his soul go with it. Ash quickly shut up. Snorunt poked his chin. "Hm?" Kurai looked back down and it smiled cutely. "Awww…" Kurai snuggled the little Snorunt like it was a teddy bear. Ash returned to grinning evilly. Kurai then realized what was going on and bailed from it. He let go of the Snorunt, cleared his throat, and pushed up his glasses and did a bunch of random stuff to shrug off the feeling. Ash had that "Yea…I saw that Heheh" look. Snorunt smiled cutely again and Kurai just wanted to go "AWWWWWWWWWWWWW" but resisted. "You know you should catch it since it seems to like you so much" Ash suggested and smiled.  
>Mhm…" Kurai put the Snorunt on his head and stood up slowly. He then reached into his bag and pulled out his pokeball making kit and started to walk. Ash turned slowly again and watched him walk again before he realized he was being left behind, again. "Hey, come on man, wait up!" A half hour passed and they reached the end of the cave. Kurai had just finished putting the finishing touches on Snorunt's pokeball. It was designed to look like a Snorunt; he also put a special carving on it. The carving itself was abstract, but look liked it depicted a bond of some sort. As they walked out the cave the wind blew softly. Kurai stopped and took the Snorunt off of his head, and set it down on the ground as he held the pokeball. "Um…are you ready?" He asked the Snorunt. It nodded slightly. Ash watched silently. "Alrighty then." Kurai tossed the pokeball at the Snorunt. The Snorunt smacked it away. "W-what?" Kurai and Ash said at the same time. The Snorunt giggled in an "I'm just kiddin'" way. It then walked over happily to the pokeball and pushed the button, then beamed in. Kurai laughed weakly and Ash sweat dropped. The ball shook slightly and soon stopped. Kurai picked up the ball and smiled in the same prince like manner as before. A girl walked up to us and Ash smiled. She wore what seemed to be a green cape toga. "Hey Gardenia! Long time no see!" Ash waved to the girl. She waved back and smiled. "Heeeeey!" Kurai was utterly lost. Ash looked at Kurai as Gardenia got closer. "I'm utterly lost, Ash. Who is she?" Kurai asked.  
>"She's this city's gym leader." He said.<br>"Oh, interesting." Gardenia got closer and was soon in front of us.  
>Hi! I'm Gardenia!" She greeted Kurai.<br>"Hello…My name is Kurai." Kurai said.  
>"That's a cool name!" She looked at Ash. "Looking for a rematch?"<br>"No, no" Ash said. "But what about him?" He looked at Kurai.  
>Kurai had a blank expression in his eyes. Gardenia tilted her head and was suddenly all "up in his grill". "Soooo you wanna battle me do ya?" She asked.<br>"Uh…um…I think so?" Kurai said unsurely.  
>"Good! I'll be waiting in my gym!" She ran off anticipated for this battle. Ash smiled slightly.<br>"Hey Gardenia! It is kind of late so…" Gardenia stopped dead in her tracks and slowed down to a walk. She said nothing and kept walking.  
>"Uhhh…" Kurai said.<br>"She just like she always was." Ash stated.

"Eh…okay."

There was a silence for a moment, "So where should we sleep?" Kurai asked.  
>"The Pokémon Center always has rooms available." Ash stated.<br>"Oh cool…" Kurai said.  
>They walked to the Pokémon Center and got two separate rooms. It was around midnight and they said their goodnights to each other and walked into their rooms. Kurai lay on the floor and stared at the ceiling. Snorunt and Duskull popped out of their pokeball's. He smiled at them as Snorunt cuddled under his arm and Duskull phased through the wall. Kurai hugged Snorunt lightly and started to feel tired. He yawned and closed his eyes, slowly falling to sleep…<p>

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><p><em><strong>Heeeeeelllloooo readers~ Ish meh the writer…:D hmmmm…this is gonna be an intervalintermission for chapter that I have no idea when to end! So um…how ya been…? Kurai is a strange one yea? He's based off of myself, actually. A Tsundere or rather an Oranyan would be a proper term…hmmm…I dunno what to write...ah! Let us take a slight glimpse into Kurai's past shall we~?**_

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><p>Kurai awoke in a dark world. Purple mist surrounded him. "Hello?" Kurai called out. There was no answer just a deathly silence. He walked and walked aimlessly for about an hour or so. Dark images surround him then. He could faintly make out the pictures. Like watching a first-person movie in Sepia, he could just watch as he saw parts of his past. A young girl about the age of 10 walked up to him, and held out her hand. It took five seconds for him to reach out and grab her hand. The image faded as soon as he did. "hn…" Kurai was saddend, and then another image came up. It was the same girl around the age of 14 now. She was giving him a necklace with a single black pearl as a pendant. The girl smiled as she seemed to put it around his neck. She then seemed to hug him and turn around. Kurai, rather the younger Kurai chased after her as she walked to the edge of Celestic Town. He put his hand out but his voice was unheard.<br>The image faded and a dark figure stood before him. There was a blue glow around the head area. The figure stood silent and Kurai stared. "What's a Pokémon like you doing here?" It was a Darkrai, but it wasn't a nightmare Kurai was in either. The Darkrai was silent and then it put its hand out. A hole formed below Kurai. "Hey waaaaaaaiiit!" he shouted as he fell. He fell and fell. He closed his eyes trying to wake up. He opened the still falling. Out of the darkness, were stars. He looked around and was suddenly in a starlit sky. He looked down and saw Celestic Town. He just watched it. Then suddenly it was set ablaze. "No…no!" Kurai dived through the air and headed straight for Celestic Town. As he tried to grab onto something it vanished and so did the town. He hit the ground lightly. A shadow then hugged him from behind. There was a type of fuzz on the back of his neck. The figure seemed to wear a coat. It slowly went to his ear and whispered something. Kurai's eye widened and was suddenly put back into reality. His vision blurred as he woke up. Nurse Joy, Ash, Snowrunt and Duskull were all looking at him. "You were tossing and turning in your sleep" Nurse Joy said.  
>"Yea are you alright?" Ash asked. Duskull just floated.<br>"Snow…Snowrunt" Snowrunt said.  
>"I-I'm fine." Kurai said softly. "I just had a nightmare so don't worry."<br>"Oh…well, I should get started on making breakfast, then." Nurse Joy said.  
>"Alright, breakfast sounds awesome!" Ash smiled and stood up.<br>They both left the room and I didn't say another word. Snowrunt nudged Kurai and then went back in its pokeball after Kurai said nothing. Duskull also went back in his pokeball. Kurai sat up and put his right hand on his eye. "C…yndi…"

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><p><em>And now readers, it's his Beta, and his challenge issuer, Bleach2121XX (Shameless plug, big whoop wanna fight about it?)<em>  
><em>Kurai's Current Team:<em>  
><em>Duskull: Level 36. Leveled up from Pikachu<em>

_Moves-_

_Night shade (Starts with this)_  
><em>Shadow Ball (TM 30)<em>  
><em>Dark pulse (Egg Move)<em>  
><em>Snorunt: Level 20<em>  
><em>Moves: Ice Beam<em>  
><em>NOTE: For the Sake of laziness, Kurai and me have decided that all of Kurai's Pokémon will know every Egg move due to chain breeding.<em>


	3. Chapter 3

The sun crept through Kurai's window. The shadows seemed to flee from the dreadful light. It seemed they try to retaliate as well, trying to destroy it. As the shadows screamed from the burning, they vanished. Kurai watched this phenomenon with a deathly cold look in his eyes. His eyes seemed inhuman at the moment. He proceeded to sit up and yawn. He stretched out his arms trying to pull against another pulling force. Beside him, he reached for his glasses. After he put them on, he yawned again and sneezed. He rubbed the bottom of his nose with the top of his index finger. He sniffled and then stood up, grabbing his bag and putting it on. He then looked down and held his pendant and closed his eyes. When he opened them he seemed to regain that fire, that was more of a raging tempest. That pendant was the only way he could ever feel like that person was next to him, always by his side. There was a silence for a few moments until Nurse Joy shouted "Breakfast~!" Kurai started for the door and was about to open it when suddenly the door flew open and knocked him back. It was Ash being his ever so rambunctious self. "Hey Kurai!" He called out. He looked all around and walked in. Kurai groaned and Ash looked down.  
>"What are you doing down there man?" Ash asked.<br>"Y-you knocked me over…" Kurai said with a seemingly dying voice.  
>"Oh sorry" Ash sweat dropped and smiled goofily, holding out a hand to help Kurai up.<br>Kurai slowly reached out his hand and looked at Ash. Kurai's eyes suddenly went dark as he grabbed Ash's hand, pulled him onto him, put a foot on his stomach and kicked Ash into a wall behind then. Nurse Joy had heard that and looked up the stairs with question.  
>"A-ahh…that hurt really bad…" Ash groaned.<br>Kurai stood up, brushed off his shoulder and pushed up his glasses. "It's supposed to hurt, it's an ass kickin'."(Reference Alert!) Pikachu then walked in and saw Ash. "Pi?" He walked to Ash. "Pika pi?"  
>"I got kicked and…flipped by Kurai." Ash said. Kurai hmphed (also known as sasuke'd) and walked out of the room, then downstairs. He walked into the kitchen where two plates of food were and a few bowls of Pokémon food. Kurai silently reached in his bag and took out Snowrunt's Pokéball and let her out. Duskull randomly floated in out of nowhere again. Nurse Joy turned around, "Oh good morning" she said as she gave her brightest smile.<br>"Hm…" Kurai mumbled. Snorunt and Duskull went to eat their food as Kurai sat down at the table.  
>"Not a morning person?" Joy asked.<br>"Not really." Kurai said. In actuality he loved mornings but the sun hadn't come out on his mornings for a long time. Kurai then proceeded to eat, chewing silently. He didn't make a sound outside of his physical body. In his mind he thought about two things; the gym battle and his love.  
>Nurse Joy felt kind of awkward from the silence so she asked, "Where's Ash?"<br>"Oh he's lying around." Kurai laughed softly.  
>"Oh, alright" She smiled again. Kurai finished his food, got up and washed the plate and sat back down. He looked to think intensely about something and then sighed.<br>"What's wrong?" she asked with a slightly concerned tone.  
>"Oh nothing…" Kurai said. "Just thinking about something."<br>"Your gym battle?" She asked.  
>"Uh, yea." Kurai rested his head on his hand. "How'd you know?"<br>"Gardenia wouldn't stop talking about it."  
>"Happy-go-lucky girl…" He said resentfully.<br>"I don't see anything wrong with that…"  
>"Oh well…" Kurai stood up and walked for the door.<br>"Oh you're leaving?"  
>"Yea, Snorunt. Duskull. Let's go." He walked out the door as his Pokémon followed.<br>"Uhh…good luck, Kurai." Nurse Joy said.  
>As they walked over to the gym the sun beat down beautifully. It glazed over the road, making look oil painted. As they walked closer to the gym the aroma of flowers filled the air. Kurai instantly fell in love with the smell. He sighed happily and walked to the gym doors.<br>"You guys ready?" He asked Snorunt and Duskull. "Dus…kull..." "Sno Snorunt!"  
>"Alright good." He pushed open the doors and stepped inside. He met a greenhouse of flowers and plants, some of which he's never seen before. He lightly sniffed the air. Snorunt did the same and twirled on her feet. Duskull just floated in all his "'unfazed badassery', acting like his last name was Nukem and his first name was Duke. Kurai could tell he loved it as well but Duskull was too filled with, pride to show it. Then all of a sudden the gym lights dimmed and a single spotlight focused on them. Kurai had a question in his eyes.<p>

Welcome Kurai to the Eterna Gym! I am the Gym Leader, Gardenia! I am mainly a grass type trainer, aren't grass Pokémon awesome? They could surely wipe you out in no second flat! I'm sure you'll lose!"  
>Kurai looked on and around. He smiled and folded arms together, leaned back slightly, narrowed his eyes, and his mouth went up a bit. "Challenge Accepted."<br>"Allllllright!" Gardenia said. "Let's begin shall we?" The spotlight went away, the gym crowded with cheering people. Kurai looked around again and observed his surroundings. Gardenia sent out her first Pokémon, Cherubi. Kurai grinned in a slightly malicious manner. "Alright Duskull, let's go!" Duskull's eyes flashed and he floated onto the field staring down Cherubi.  
>"My opponent has the first move!" Gardenia shouted.<br>"Ladies first!" Kurai shouted back.  
>"Eh…alright. Cherubi use Bullet Seed!" Cherubi then shot seeds out of its mouth in a frenzy of high velocity.<br>"Hmph…use Dark Pulse, Duskull." Duskull shot out a proceeded to shoot a dark ball that hit the ground. Upon hitting the ground, as usual, it spread out. The shockwave Rejected the Bullet Seed and when reaching around Cherubi, it tripped Cherubi up. "Now use Night Shade." Kurai said coldly. Duskull's eyes flashed and he shot a beam from his eyes towards Cherubi.  
>"T-try and dodge it Cherubi!" Gardenia shouted. Cherubi got back its footing looking ever so arrogant; it then looked ahead and saw the Night Shade. It dodged it slightly, but it was not enough and was hit. It flew back slightly, but got up for a final stand. Gardenia sighed with relief.<br>"Oh thank goodness…alright! Cherubi time for a counter-attack! Use Magical Leaf then Energy Ball!"  
>"Cher Cher!" Cherubi shot leaves of all colors out of itself and it hit Duskull without Kurai saying anything. Duskull went back a little. Cherubi then shot a ball of light and energy directly at Duskull.<br>"Duskull…Shadow Ball." Duskull then seemed to focus and absorb all the shadows and darkness into the center of his body. As the Energy Ball flew across the stadium he shot out his, it colliding with the Energy Ball. Dark and light energy shot out from the balls. Gardenia didn't think to do anything more and just watched with a 'Come on…' look on her face. Kurai pushed up his glasses.  
>"Finish it with Dark Pulse." In a split second Duskull shot out a Dark Pulse, it aided the Shadow Ball. Gardenia just froze as the Shadow Ball flew towards Cherubi and blew up. As the smoke cleared, Cherubi had fainted. The man who had the flags raised my side and said "Cherubi is unable to battle Round One goes to Kurai!" The crowd cheered. Gardenia slowly took out her Pokéball, withdrew Cherubi and spoke. "You fought a good, somewhat tragic fight…get some rest." She put the ball away, and pulled out another. "Alright now this gets serious!" She smiled and tossed it onto the field. A Cherrim was next. This wasn't going to be any different from the last match so swiftly Kurai and Duskull disposed of Cherrim. Gardenia again was surprised. She repeated her earlier process and finally sent out a Roserade. Kurai said nothing and motioned for Duskull to come back. Duskull obediently floated back, and Kurai sent out Snorunt. Snorunt looked as eager as ever and was ready to fight. Gardenia looked at Kurai with question but Kurai just smiled back. Kurai then held his hand to his chest and made a soft noise. "Heheh…" Snorunt looked back at him with a question in her eyes as to why he was acting this way. Kurai shrugged off her look and was prepared to win the battle with just a few moves and a wonderful strategy. Kurai could read people like a book. He knew what would happen and when it will. "Alright…let's get started shall we~?"<br>"I-it's not the end yet! Roserade use Poison Sting!" Gardenia shouted. Roserade put out her blue rose arm and shot small needle like things aimed for Snorunt.  
>"Dodge it…" Kurai simply flicked up his hand, as Snorunt proceeded to dodge and jump in the air. "Now…use Ice Beam, right at Roserade's feet." Snorunt seemed to nod and shot out a raging beam at Roserade's feet. It froze up her small body about to the bottom half of her. Roserade struggled to move.<br>Gardenia withheld herself. "Use Magical Leaf on the ice, Roserade!" With whatever Roserade could struggle out she cracked the ice and then broke free. Ice flew everywhere in icicles. "Now Roserade, use Grass Knot!" Grass Knot hit Snorunt but did minimal damage, as Snorunt wasn't moving.  
>"Snorunt, Icy Wind." Snorunt shot snow from its mouth in the form of a gust, it hit Roserade and it seemed to be slower.<br>"Ugh…Roserade, use Stun Spore!" Roserade shot up these yellow spores and it landed on Snorunt. Kurai had let that happen. Gardenia looked excited and shouted, "Roserade charge up Solar Beam! " Roserade took in the sun, ad charged up the light energy into a form it could use. Snorunt struggled to move. It struggled, and struggled. Kurai's face was expressionless as Snorunt looked back at him. When Roserade finished charging, Gardenia said, "Allllllright! Use Solar Beam!" Roserade had a winning intent in her eyes. It shot the beam straight for the stunned Snorunt.  
>"…Heh…let's end this with a bang, Snorunt, Ice Beam." Kurai said, while putting his glasses back on. Snorunt suddenly was free from being stunned for the slight moment of it using Ice Beam, the two beams clashed. The beams battled back and forth. "Snorunt…you can do this…" Kurai smiled contently. He was sincere in the purest of ways. Snorunt looked to sink a little and then put more energy into the Ice Beam making it larger. (Mini Kamehameha anyone?) The Solar Beam was being pushed back to Roserade along with the Ice Beam. "Roserade, come on! You can do it!" Roserade tried to put more energy into her beam but it was futile as Snorunt tried it's hardest to fight against it. With all of its might it pushed the two beams to Roserade, causing an explosion, again. Gardenia was coughing as the smoke cleared. Then Kurai's flag went up. "Roserade is unable to battle! The victory goes to Kurai!" The crowd cheered. Gardenia walked over to Roserade and picked her up. "You fought extremely well, it was good battle, and you deserve some rest…" Gardenia withdrew Roserade. As that was happening Kurai was hugging Snorunt. Duskull in all his badassery was looking away with "What the hell…" look. Gardenia then walked over to Kurai.<p>

"That was an amazing battle, I really did have fun. So, that being said…"Gardenia stopped and reached in her pocket. Kurai looked up. "I present to you, the Forest Badge. I am honored that my gym was your first Gym." She held out the badge to Kurai and he slowly took it and stood up staring at Gardenia. Three seconds later they crossed arms in an X form.  
>"Heh, later when we have a rematch, I'll still kick your butt." Kurai said chuckling.<br>"I'll be a lot stronger then, I can't wait, you're definitely goin' to lose!" Gardenia said enthusiastically. Kurai called over Duskull and threw the badge in the air flipping it like a coin. Duskull floated beside him, then poofed, and scared Gardenia. She shot out of her skin and Kurai laughed. Gardenia puffed out her cheeks and sighed. "You're such a meanie." Ash then ran out onto the field. "Hey Kurai! Great job!"  
>"Well I'll be seein' ya Gardenia." Kurai turned around as soon as Ash reached them and started walking. Ash slid and turned around. "Hey man that's not fair! Kurai shrugged and said, "Come on…" Ash sighed. "Yea, yea I'm comin'…" He turned to Gardenia and said goodbye, but before he left Gardenia gave Ash something.<br>"Give these to Kurai will ya?"She asked.  
>"Oh yeah, sure!" Ash said as he ran to catch up with Kurai. Gardenia waved as they left the gym. "Heeeeeey Kurai!" Ash shouted. Kurai then turned around.<br>"Yea?" he asked.  
>"Gardenia gave me these to give you." Ash handed Kurai a Rare Candy and a Dawn Stone. "Oh cool. Duskull this is for you." He tossed the Rare Candy at Duskull as it grabbed it and ate it. There was a silence for a moment. Then a white light surrounded Duskull. It's shaped changed to something taller and more ominous looking. When the light cleared, Ash was in awe.<br>"Dus...clops" The newly evolved Duskull said, not in a deep and dark voice, but deathly almost as a menacing whisper. Dusclops's hands were not big and blocky, more like razor sharp claws. His one eye was a searing dark purple. His 'cloak' not grey but black. Snorunt looked awed at what Duskull had become. Kurai looked at Snorunt. "Don't worry, your time will come." He smiled and Snorunt smiled back. "Damn, Dusclops's looks scary…" Ash said. Dusclops's could no longer float so Kurai withdrew him. "Hm…" Then he withdrew Snorunt and continued to walk. "N-not again! Stop leavin' me behind!" Ash shouted. As they walked the reached Jubilife City.  
>When they got there, Kurai said, "I feel like eating something cold." He looked around the city and found an ice cream shop. Ash exclaimed, "Alright!" and he ran in. Kurai simply walked in and browsed around. He got mint chocolate ice cream in a waffle cone. Ash got chocolate ice cream on a cone as well. He then put his necklace inside his shirt keeping it close to him. As they paid and walked out of the store Kurai closed his eyes and Ash just walked mesmerized by his ice cream and bumped into someone. "S-sorry" he said as he looked up at the person. "Oh hey!" Ash exclaimed. Kurai opened one eye and then suddenly dropped his ice cream. There before them stood a tall blonde woman, in a black coat, a black t shirt and black pants. She wore heels that had a yellow strip across them, and wore these things in her hair with the same pattern on each side of her head. "C-cyndi…" Kurai whispered softly to himself and smiled as she looked up. "Oh hey Ash. And you are…?" Cyndi looked at Kurai. Kurai, who was just about to explode with joy, froze and died on the inside. "My name is…Akio." Ash looked at Kurai with utter question. "But you-" "Shut your mouth…" Kurai looked at him with a murderous intent in his eyes as he cut him off. Cynthia looked at both of them and then at "Akio". "It's very nice to meet you" she stuck out her hand. Kurai seemed to smile, in such way it seemed dead, like a smile that had lost all hope. He then grabbed her hand and shook it. "Like…wise…" he said.<p> 


End file.
